Process for manufacturing semiconductor integrated circuit device including treatment of gas used in the process

ABSTRACT

In a gas-phase treating process of a semiconductor wafer using hydrogen, there is provided a technique for safely eliminating the hydrogen in an exhaust gas discharged from a gas-phase treating apparatus. The profile at the end portions of the side walls of gate electrodes of a poly-metal structure is improved by forming the gate electrodes over a semiconductor wafer  1 A having a gate oxide film and then by supplying the semiconductor wafer  1 A with a hydrogen gas containing a low concentration of water, as generated from hydrogen and oxygen by catalytic action, to oxidize the principal face of the semiconductor wafer  1 A selectively. After this, the hydrogen in the exhaust gas, as discharged from an oxidizing furnace, is completely converted into water by causing it to react with oxygen by a catalytic method.

This application is a Continuation application of Ser. No. 09/089,398,filed Jun. 3, 1998 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,666,508.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a process for manufacturing asemiconductor integrated circuit device and, more particularly, to atechnique which is effective when applied to a gas-phase treatingprocess for a semiconductor wafer using a hydrogen gas.

In a semiconductor manufacturing process, it is known to use ahydrogen-annealing treatment for feeding hydrogen to a polycrystallinesilicon film for constructing the gate electrodes of a MOSFET (MetalOxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor) and a Si (silicon)substrate. For this hydrogen annealing treatment, the hydrogen gas isintroduced into a batch type or sheet type hydrogen-annealing furnacehousing a semiconductor wafer to heat-treat this semiconductor wafer. Ina hydrogen atmosphere at about 400°. After this hydrogen-annealingtreatment, the trap level, as caused by the dangling bonds (or uncoupledbonds) of Si, is terminated by the hydrogen so that the characteristicsof the MOSFET are improved.

In the prior art, the hydrogen gas, as discharged from thehydrogen-annealing furnace, is eliminated by a combustion method. Inthis regard, air is introduced into the exhaust line of thehydrogen-annealing apparatus to burn and convert the hydrogen into waterby the spark ignition method. In a hydrogen-annealing furnace of arelatively small scale, on the other hand, the discharged hydrogen maybe diluted with a large amount of nitrogen gas or air and released tothe atmosphere.

In a process for forming MOSFETs over a Si substrate, on the other hand,the Si substrate is wet-oxidized to form a gate oxide film on itssurface. For this formation, there is also utilized a combustion method,in which water is generated by burning hydrogen in an oxygen atmosphereand the water is fed together with the oxygen to the surface of thesemiconductor wafer.

For generating a water/hydrogen mixed gas to wet-oxide the Si substrate,a catalytic method is well known in the art in addition to 25, thecombustion method. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.5-152282/1993 (hereinafter to be called “Ohmi”) has disclosed a thermaloxidizing apparatus in which a hydrogen gas inlet pipe is made at itsinner face of Ni (nickel) or a Ni-containing material and which isequipped with means for heating the hydrogen gas inlet pipe. Thisthermal oxidizing apparatus generates water by bringing the hydrogeninto contact with the Ni (or Ni-containing material) in the hydrogen gasinlet pipe heated to 300° C. or higher, to generate hydrogen activatedspecies and by causing these hydrogen activated species and the oxygen(or the gas containing oxygen) to react with each other.

In a process for forming gate electrodes over the gate oxide film thusformed by the wet-oxidizing method, moreover, the gate electrodematerial, as deposited on the gate oxide film, is patterned by adry-etching method. After this, the photoresist employed as the etchingmask is eliminated by aching treatment, and the dry-etching residue oraching residue, as left on the surface of the substrate, is eliminatedby an etching liquid, such as hydrofluoric acid.

With this wet-etching treatment, the gate oxide film is etched off notonly from regions other than those under the gate electrodes, but alsoisotropically from the end portions of the side walls of the gateelectrodes, thereby to cause an under-cut. This under-cut will cause, asit is, a defect in the form of a drop in the withstand voltage of thegate electrodes. In order to improve the profile of the under-cut endportions of the side walls of the gate electrodes, therefore, aso-called “light oxidation treatment” is performed to thermally oxidizethe substrate again, thereby to form an oxide film on its surface.

If, however, the light oxidation treatment is applied to the gateelectrodes of the poly-metal structure, which contains a refractorymetal, such as W (tungsten) or Mo (molybdenum), that is liable to beoxidized in a hot oxygen atmosphere, the refractory metal film isoxidized to raise its resistance or is partially separated from thesubstrate. For a gate treating process using a poly-metal, therefore,there are required counter-measures for preventing the refractory metalfilm from being oxidized during the light oxidation treatment.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-132136/1984 (hereinafter to be called“Kobayashi”) has disclosed a technique for oxidizing Si selectively, butnot a W (or Mo) film, by light-oxidizing the gate electrodes of thepoly-metal structure including the W film or the Mo film over the Sisubstrate, in a mixed atmosphere of steam and hydrogen.

This technique utilizes the fact that the partial pressure ratio ofsteam/hydrogen for balancing the oxidizing/reducing reactions isdifferent between W (Mo) and Si. The selective oxidation of Si isrealized by setting the partial pressure ratio within a range whereinthe W (Mo) may be oxidized with steam, but quickly reduced with thecoexisting hydrogen, whereas the Si may be left oxidized. On the otherhand, the steam/hydrogen mixed atmosphere is generated by the bubblingmethod of feeding the hydrogen gas to pure water contained in acontainer, and the steam/hydrogen partial pressure ratio is controlledby changing the temperature of the pure water.

In the light oxidation process, as disclosed, the Si substrate isoxidized with the steam/hydrogen mixed gas so that the hydrogen gas iscontained in the exhaust gas discharged from the oxidizing furnace. Inthis case, too, there are required some counter-measures for eliminatingthe hydrogen gas from the exhaust gas.

Another well-known exhaust gas eliminating method, as employed in thesemiconductor manufacturing process, is disclosed in Japanese PatentLaid-Open No. 8-83772/1996 (hereinafter to be called “Watanabe”). Inthis method, an exhaust gas containing tetraethoxysilane discharged froma CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) apparatus is guided into an adsorptiontower to come into contact with a metal oxide catalyst (or an adsorbentcarrying the catalyst) so that it may be oxidized and decomposed into apowder of silicon dioxide and diethyl ether. The metal oxide catalyst tobe employed is exemplified by NiO, CuO, Mn₂O₃ or Fe₂O₃.

Moreover, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-75651/1997 (hereinafter to becalled “Koyashiki”) has disclosed a method in which a silane gas iseliminated as the powder of silicon dioxide by mixing and oxidizing an(water-soluble) ammonium gas and the silane gas with oxygen, in whichthe ammonia gas is eliminated by rinsing and in which the remainingnoxious gases are adsorbed and eliminated with active carbon.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to our investigations, in the aforementionedhydrogen-annealing process for a semiconductor wafer, the hydrogen gasto be discharged from a hydrogen-annealing furnace has to be ignited,after sufficient air was fed to the exhaust line, so that it may beeliminated by the combustion method. As a result, the flame is liable togo out when the supply of hydrogen gas becomes short, such as at thetime of switching between the hydrogen gas and the purge gas, and theunburned hydrogen is discharged as it is to the outside. Since thehydrogen-annealing treatment is performed at a temperature as high asabout 400° C., however, the amount of the unburned hydrogen in the hotexhaust gas may lead to the danger of explosion. Moreover, this hydrogeneliminating method by the use of combustion poses another problem inthat the scale of the eliminator is enlarged.

On the other hand, the elimination method involving a diluting of thehydrogen gas, as discharged from the hydrogen-annealing furnace, with alarge amount of nitrogen gas or air and discharging it to the atmosphereemploys much diluting gas because the hydrogen gas concentration has tobe lowered to about several percent for safety. This elimination method,like the combustion method, poses the problem that the scale of theeliminator is enlarged, and therefore is not suitable for eliminating alarge amount of hydrogen gas.

Moreover, the method of Koyashiki using an adsorbent, such as activecarbon, is environmentally defective because it will not convert anoxious substance into a safe one.

On the other hand, the method of Watanabe, which generates a powderyproduct which is troublesome to handle or a highly flammable substance,such as diethyl ether, is liable to cause problems if applied to amass-production process.

An object of the invention is to provide a technique which, in a processfor gas-phase treating a semiconductor wafer with a treating gascontaining hydrogen, can eliminate the hydrogen safely from exhaust gasdischarged from a gas-phase treating apparatus.

Another object of the invention is to provide a technique which, in aprocess for gas-phase treating a semiconductor wafer with a treating gascontaining hydrogen, can eliminate the hydrogen efficiently from exhaustgas discharged from a gas phase treating apparatus.

The aforementioned and other objects and novel features of the inventionwill become apparent from the description to be made with reference tothe accompanying drawings.

Representative features of the invention to be disclosed herein will bebriefly summarized in the following.

(1) A process for manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuitdevice according to the invention comprises: the step of gas-phasetreating a semiconductor wafer with a treating gas containing hydrogen;and the step of eliminating the hydrogen, as contained in the gas-phasetreated exhaust gas, by causing the hydrogen to react with oxygen byusing a catalyst.

(2) In a semiconductor integrated circuit device manufacturing processof the invention, a hydrogen eliminator for eliminating the hydrogencontained in said exhaust gas is disposed in an exhaust line of agas-phase treating device for gas-phase treating said semiconductorwafer.

(3) In a semiconductor integrated circuit device manufacturing processof the invention, said hydrogen eliminator is disposed at each exhaustline of said gas-phase treating unit.

(4) In a semiconductor integrated circuit device manufacturing processof the invention, one said hydrogen eliminator is disposed at theexhaust lines of a plurality of said gas-phase treating units.

(5) In a semiconductor integrated circuit device manufacturing processof the invention, the treatment of eliminating the hydrogen contained insaid exhaust gas is performed by a single wafer process or a batchprocess.

(6) A process for manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuitdevice according to the invention comprises: the step of forming gateelectrodes of a MOSFET by depositing a conductive film containing atleast a metal film on a gate oxide film formed over the principal faceof a semiconductor substrate and by patterning said conductive film; thestep of improving the profile of the end portions of the side walls ofsaid gate electrodes by feeding a hydrogen gas containing steam, asgenerated from hydrogen and oxygen by catalytic action, to the principalface or the vicinity of said semiconductor substrate which is heated toa predetermined temperature, thereby to oxidize the principal face ofsaid semiconductor substrate selectively; and the step of eliminatingthe hydrogen, as contained in the oxidized exhaust gas, by causing it toreact with oxygen by using a catalyst.

(7) In a semiconductor integrated circuit device manufacturing processof the invention, the steam/hydrogen partial pressure ratio of thehydrogen gas containing said steam is set within such a range that saidmetal film may be reduced, whereas the principal face of saidsemiconductor substrate may be oxidized.

(8) In a semiconductor integrated circuit device manufacturing processof the invention, said conductive film includes at least a Ti film, andthe principal face of said semiconductor substrate is selectivelyoxidized with the hydrogen gas containing steam of such a lowconcentration that the deterioration of said gate electrodes by theoxidation of said Ti film may be minimized.

(9) In a semiconductor integrated circuit device manufacturing processof the invention, said conductive film includes at least a W film, andthe principal face of said semiconductor substrate is selectivelyoxidized with the hydrogen gas containing steam of such a lowconcentration as to be able to control the oxidation rate and theoxidized film thickness.

(10) In a semiconductor integrated circuit device manufacturing processof the invention, the conductive film constructing said gate electrodesincludes a polycrystalline silicon film, a metal nitride film depositedon said polycrystalline silicon film, and a metal film deposited on saidmetal nitride film

(11) In a semiconductor integrated circuit device manufacturing processof the invention, said metal nitride film is made of WN or TiN, and saidmetal film is made of W, Mo or Ti.

(12) A process for manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuitdevice according to the invention comprises: the step of forming gateelectrodes of a MOSFET by depositing a conductive film including atleast a metal film over a gate oxide film having a thickness of 5 nm orless and formed over the principal face of a semiconductor substrate andthen by patterning said conductive film; the step of improving theprofile of the end portions of the side walls of said gate electrodes byoxidizing the principal face of said semiconductor substrate selectivelyby feeding the hydrogen gas containing steam of such a lowconcentration, as is generated from hydrogen and oxygen by catalyticaction and can control the reproductivity of the oxide film formationand the homogeneity of the oxide film thickness, to the principal faceor the vicinity of said semiconductor substrate heated to apredetermined temperature, thereby to oxidize the principal face of saidsemiconductor substrate selectively; and the step of eliminating thehydrogen, as contained in the oxidized exhaust gas, by causing it toreact with oxygen by using a catalyst.

(13) A process for manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuitdevice according to the invention comprises: the step of forming one ormore layers of wiring over the principal face of a semiconductorsubstrate and then depositing a passivation film on the wiring of theuppermost layer; the step of terminating the dangling bonds of Si withhydrogen by heat treating said semiconductor substrate in a gasatmosphere containing hydrogen in the course of or before or after thestep of depositing said passivation film; and the step of eliminatingthe hydrogen, as contained in the heat treated exhaust gas, by causingit to react with oxygen by using a catalyst.

The remaining aspects of the invention will be itemized and brieflydescribed in the following.

1. A process for manufacturing semiconductor integrated circuit device,comprising:

(a) the step of treating a semiconductor integrated circuit wafer, ashoused in a reaction furnace, in a gas atmosphere containing a hydrogengas;

(b) the step of discharging said gas atmosphere to the outside of saidreaction furnace; and

(c) the-step of converting the hydrogen gas, as contained in saidatmosphere, into water by treating said discharged gas atmosphere withan oxidizing catalyst.

2. A process for manufacturing semiconductor integrated circuit device,comprising:

(a) the step of treating a semiconductor integrated circuit wafer, ashoused in a reaction furnace, in a gas atmosphere containing acombustible gas;

(b) the step of discharging said gas atmosphere to the outside of saidreaction furnace; and

(c) the step of converting the said combustible gas, as contained insaid atmosphere, into at least one non-combustible component exclusivelyby treating said discharged gas atmosphere with an oxidizing catalyst.

3. A process for manufacturing semiconductor integrated circuit device,comprising:

(a) the step of treating a semiconductor integrated circuit wafer, ashoused in a reaction furnace, with a gas atmosphere containing acombustible gas and steam synthesized by using a catalyst;

(b) the step of discharging said gas atmosphere to the outside of saidreaction furnace; and

(c) the step of converting the said combustible gas, as contained insaid atmosphere, into at least one noncombustible component exclusivelyby treating said discharged gas atmosphere with an oxidizing catalyst.

4. A process for manufacturing semiconductor integrated circuit device,comprising:

(a) the step of thermally oxidizing a first region containing silicon asits major component selectively by heat treating a semiconductorintegrated circuit wafer, which has said first region and a secondregion containing a refractory metal but not silicon as its majorcomponent, in a reaction furnace in a gas atmosphere containing ahydrogen gas and steam;

(b) the step of discharging said gas atmosphere to the outside of saidreaction furnace; and

(c) the step of converting the hydrogen gas, as contained in saidatmosphere, into water by treating said discharged gas atmosphere withan oxidizing catalyst.

5. A process for manufacturing semiconductor integrated circuit device,comprising:

(a) the step of thermally oxidizing a first region selectively by heattreating a semiconductor integrated circuit wafer, which has said firstregion and a second region made of a material different from that ofsaid first region, in a reaction furnace in a gas atmosphere containinga hydrogen gas and steam;

(b) the step of discharging said gas atmosphere to the outside of saidreaction furnace; and

(c) the step of converting the hydrogen gas, as contained in saidatmosphere, into water by treating said discharged gas atmosphere withan oxidizing catalyst.

6. A process for manufacturing semiconductor integrated circuit device,comprising:

(a) the step of treating a semiconductor integrated circuit wafer, ashoused in a reaction furnace, in a gas atmosphere containing acombustible gas;

(b) the step of discharging said gas atmosphere to the outside of saidreaction furnace; and

(c) the step of converting the said combustible gas, as contained insaid atmosphere, into at least one non-combustible component exclusivelyby treating said discharged gas atmosphere with an oxidizing catalyst ina catalytic treating chamber disposed in the vicinity of said reactionfurnace.

7. A process for manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuitdevice, comprising:

(a) the step of forming a poly-silicon film over a gate insulating filmincluding a silicon oxide film formed on the silicon surface of asemiconductor wafer;

(b) the step of forming a refractory metal film containing tungsten asits major component directly or through a barrier layer over saidpoly-silicon film;

(c) the step of forming gate electrodes by patterning said poly-siliconfilm and said refractory metal film;

(d) the step of thermally oxidizing, additionally after said step (c),the silicon and poly-silicon portions in a mixed atmosphere containing ahydrogen gas and steam synthesized with a catalyst from oxygen and ahydrogen gas;

(e) the step of discharging said mixed atmosphere to the outside of saidthermally oxidizing region; and

(f) the step of converting the hydrogen gas, as contained in said mixedatmosphere, into water by treating said discharged gas atmosphere withan oxidizing catalyst.

8. A process for manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuitdevice, comprising:

(a) the step of forming a poly-silicon film over a gate insulating filmincluding a silicon oxide film formed on the silicon surface of asemiconductor wafer;

(b) the step of forming a refractory metal film directly or through abarrier layer over said polysilicon film;

(c) the step of forming gate electrodes by patterning said poly-siliconfilm and said refractory metal film;

(d) the step of thermally oxidizing, additionally after said step (c),the silicon and poly-silicon portions in a mixed atmosphere containing ahydrogen gas and steam synthesized with use of a catalyst from oxygenand a hydrogen gas;

(e) the step of discharging said mixed atmosphere to the outside of saidthermally oxidizing region; and

(f) the step of converting the hydrogen gas, as contained in said mixedatmosphere, into water by treating said discharged gas atmosphere withan oxidizing catalyst.

9. A process for manufacturing semiconductor integrated circuit device,comprising:

(a) the step of heat treating a first region over a semiconductor waferand a second region made of a material different from that of said firstregion in a mixed atmosphere containing a hydrogen gas and steamsynthesized from oxygen and a hydrogen gas with use of a catalyst, sothat said first region may be oxidized whereas said second region maynot be substantially oxidized;

(b) the step of discharging said mixed atmosphere to the outside of saidthermally oxidizing region; and

(c) the step of converting the hydrogen gas, as contained in saidatmosphere, into water by treating said discharged gas atmosphere withan oxidizing catalyst.

10. A process for manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuitdevice, comprising:

(a) the step of forming a first film containing silicon as a majorcomponent over a gate insulating film including a silicon oxide filmformed on the silicon surface of a semiconductor wafer;

(b) the step of forming a refractory metal film directly or through abarrier layer over said first film;

(c) the step of forming gate electrodes by patterning said first filmand said refractory metal film;

(d) the step of thermally oxidizing, additionally after said step (c),the silicon and poly-silicon portions in a mixed atmosphere containing ahydrogen gas and steam synthesized with use of a catalyst from oxygenand a hydrogen gas;

(e) the step of discharging said mixed atmosphere to the outside of saidthermally oxidizing region; and

(f) the step of converting the hydrogen gas, as contained in said mixedatmosphere, into water by treating said discharged gas atmosphere withan oxidizing catalyst.

11. A process for manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuitdevice, comprising:

(a) the step of forming element isolating grooves in the silicon surfaceof a semiconductor integrated circuit;

(b) the step of burying members from the outside in said elementisolating grooves;

(c) the step of flattening said wafer surface, after said step (b), by achemical mechanical polishing method;

(d) the step of forming a poly-silicon film over a gate insulating filmcontaining a silicon oxide film formed on the silicon surface of saidsemiconductor wafer;

(e) the step of forming a refractory metal film directly or through abarrier layer over said polysilicon film;

(f) the step of forming gate films by patterning said poly-silicon filmand said refractory metal film;

(g) the step of thermally oxidizing, after said step (f), the siliconand poly-silicon portions in a mixed atmosphere containing a hydrogengas and steam so that said refractory metal film may not besubstantially oxidized;

(h) the step of discharging said mixed atmosphere to the outside of saidthermally oxidizing region; and

(i) the step of converting the hydrogen gas, as contained in said mixedatmosphere, into water by treating said discharged gas atmosphere withuse of an oxidizing catalyst.

12. A process for manufacturing a CMOS semiconductor integrated circuitdevice, comprising:

(a) the step of forming a poly-silicon film over a gate insulating filmcontaining a silicon oxide film formed on the silicon surface of asemiconductor wafer;

(b) the step of forming a refractory metal film containing tungsten as amajor component through a barrier layer containing a tungsten nitridefilm over said poly-silicon film;

(c) the step of forming gate films by patterning said poly-silicon filmand said refractory metal film;

(d) the step of thermally oxidizing, after said step (c), the siliconand poly-silicon portions in a mixed atmosphere containing a hydrogengas and steam so that said refractory metal film may not besubstantially oxidized;

(e) the step of discharging said mixed atmosphere to the outside of saidthermally oxidizing region; and

(f) the step of converting the hydrogen gas, as contained in said mixedatmosphere, into water by treating said discharged gas atmosphere withuse of an oxidizing catalyst.

13. A process for manufacturing a CMOS semiconductor integrated circuitdevice, comprising:

(a) the step of forming a poly-silicon film over a gate insulating filmcontaining a silicon oxide film formed on the silicon surface of asemiconductor wafer;

(b) the step of forming a refractory metal film containing tungsten as amajor component through a barrier layer containing a tungsten nitridefilm over said poly-silicon film;

(c) the step of forming gate electrodes by patterning said poly-siliconfilm and said refractory metal film;

(d) the step of thermally oxidizing, after said step (c), the siliconand poly-silicon portions in a mixed atmosphere of a gas for oxidizingand reducing the silicon and the poly-silicon so that said refractorymetal film may not be substantially oxidized;

(e) the step of discharging said mixed atmosphere to the outside of saidthermally oxidizing region; and

(f) the step of converting said mixed atmosphere into a non-combustibleatmosphere by treating said discharged gas atmosphere with use of anoxidizing catalyst.

14. A process for manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuitdevice, comprising:

(a) the step of forming a poly-silicon film over a gate insulating filmcontaining a silicon oxide film formed on the silicon surface of asemiconductor wafer;

(b) the step of forming a refractory metal film containing tungsten as amajor component directly or through a barrier layer over saidpoly-silicon film;

(c) the step of forming gate electrode by patterning said poly-siliconfilm and said refractory metal film;

(d) the step of thermally oxidizing, additionally after said step (c),the silicon and poly-silicon portions in a mixed atmosphere of a gas forreducing the silicon and the poly-silicon and an oxidizing gas, assynthesized with use of an oxidizing catalyst, so that said refractorymetal film may not be substantially oxidized;

(e) the step of discharging said mixed atmosphere to the outside of saidthermally oxidizing region; and

(f) the step of converting said mixed atmosphere into a non-combustibleatmosphere by treating said discharged gas atmosphere with use of anoxidizing catalyst.

15. A process for manufacturing semiconductor integrated circuit device,comprising:

(a) the step of hydrogen-annealing a semiconductor integrated circuitwafer having a final passivation film, in a reaction furnace in a gasatmosphere containing a hydrogen gas;

(b) the step of discharging said gas atmosphere to the outside of saidreaction furnace; and

(c) the step of converting the hydrogen gas, as contained in saidatmosphere, into water by treating said discharged gas atmosphere withan oxidizing catalyst.

16. A process for manufacturing semiconductor integrated circuit device,comprising:

(a) the step of heat treating a semiconductor integrated circuit waferin a reaction furnace in a gas atmosphere containing a hydrogen gas andsteam;

(b) the step of discharging said gas atmosphere to the outside of saidreaction furnace; and

(c) the step of converting the hydrogen gas, as contained in saidatmosphere, into water by treating said discharged gas atmosphere withuse of an oxidizing catalyst.

17. A semiconductor integrated circuit device manufacturing processaccording to claim 16,

wherein said wafer is a silicon wafer prepared by the Czochralskimethod.

18. A semiconductor integrated circuit device manufacturing processaccording to claim 17,

wherein said wafer is a wafer having a silicon epitaxial layer over asilicon substrate.

19. A semiconductor integrated circuit device manufacturing processaccording to claim 18,

wherein said wafer is a wafer having a silicon epitaxial layer over asilicon substrate.

20. A semiconductor integrated circuit device manufacturing processaccording to claim 19,

wherein the treatment with said catalyst is performed in anon-combustible temperature region of hydrogen.

21. A semiconductor integrated circuit device manufacturing processaccording to claim 20,

wherein the feed and discharge of said atmosphere are performed eithersubstantially simultaneously or continuously with the heat treatment.

22. A semiconductor integrated circuit device manufacturing processaccording to claim 21,

wherein said heat treatment is performed in a temperature region of 700°C. or higher.

Moreover, the foregoing and other features will be itemized and brieflydescribed from other aspects.

23. A process for manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuitdevice comprises: the step of gas phase treating a semiconductor waferwith a treating gas containing hydrogen; and the step of eliminating thehydrogen, as contained in the gas-phase treated exhaust gas, by causingthe hydrogen to react with oxygen by use of a catalyst.

24. In a semiconductor integrated circuit device manufacturing processas set forth in item 23, a hydrogen eliminator for eliminating thehydrogen contained in said exhaust gas is disposed in an exhaust line ofa gas-phase treating device for gas phase treating said semiconductorwafer.

25. In a semiconductor integrated circuit device manufacturing processas set forth in item 24, said hydrogen eliminator is disposed at eachexhaust line of said gas-phase treating unit.

26. In a semiconductor integrated circuit device manufacturing processas set forth in item 24, one said hydrogen eliminator is disposed at theexhaust lines of a plurality of said gas-phase treating units.

27. In a semiconductor integrated circuit device manufacturing processas set forth in item 23, the treatment of eliminating the hydrogencontained in said exhaust gas is performed by a single wafer process ora batch process.

28. A process for manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuitdevice comprises: the step of forming gate electrodes of a MOSFET bydepositing a conductive film containing at least a metal film on a gateoxide film formed over the principal face of a semiconductor substrateand by patterning said conductive film; the step of improving theprofile of the end portions of the side walls of said gate electrodes byfeeding a hydrogen gas containing steam, as generated from hydrogen andoxygen by catalytic action, to the principal face or the vicinity ofsaid semiconductor substrate which is heated to a predeterminedtemperature, thereby to oxidize the principal face of said semiconductorsubstrate selectively; and the step of eliminating the hydrogen, ascontained in the oxidized exhaust gas, by causing it to react withoxygen by use of a catalyst.

29. In a semiconductor integrated circuit device manufacturing processas set forth in item 28, the steam/hydrogen partial pressure ratio ofthe hydrogen gas containing said steam is set within such a range thatsaid metal film may be reduced whereas the principal face of saidsemiconductor substrate may be oxidized.

30. In a semiconductor integrated circuit device manufacturing processas set forth in item 28, said conductive film includes at least a Tifilm, and the principal face of said semiconductor substrate isselectively oxidized with the hydrogen gas containing steam of such alow concentration that the deterioration of said gate electrodes by theoxidation of said Ti film may be minimized.

31. In a semiconductor integrated circuit device manufacturing processas set forth in item 28, said conductive film includes at least a Wfilm, and the principal face of said semiconductor substrate isselectively oxidized with the hydrogen gas containing steam of such alow concentration as to control the oxidation rate and the oxidized filmthickness.

32. In a semiconductor integrated circuit device manufacturing processas set forth in item 28, the conductive film constructing said gateelectrodes includes a polycrystalline silicon film, a metal nitride filmdeposited on said polycrystalline silicon film, and a metal filmdeposited on said metal nitride film.

33. In a semiconductor integrated circuit device manufacturing processas set forth in item 32, said metal-nitride film is made of WN or TiN,and said metal film is made of W, Mo or Ti.

34. A process for manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuitdevice comprises: the step of forming gate electrodes of a MOSFET bydepositing a conductive film including at least a metal film over a gateoxide film having a thickness of 5 nm or less and formed over theprincipal face of a semiconductor substrate and then by patterning saidconductive film; the step of improving the profile of the end portionsof the side walls of said gate electrodes by oxidizing the principalface of said semiconductor substrate selectively by feeding the hydrogengas containing steam of such a low concentration, as is generated fromhydrogen and oxygen by catalytic action and can control thereproducibility of the oxide film formation and the homogeneity of theoxide film thickness, to the principal face or the vicinity of saidsemiconductor substrate heated to a predetermined temperature, therebyto oxidize the principal face of said semiconductor substrateselectively; and the step of eliminating the hydrogen, as contained inthe oxidized exhaust gas, by causing it to react with oxygen by use of acatalyst

35. A process for manufacturing a semiconductor integrated circuitdevice comprises: the step of 25 forming one or more layers of wiringover the principal face of a semiconductor substrate and then depositinga passivation film on the wiring of the uppermost layer; the step ofterminating the dangling bonds of Si with hydrogen by heat treating saidsemiconductor substrate in a gas atmosphere containing hydrogen in thecourse of or before or after the step of depositing said passivationfilm; and the step of eliminating the hydrogen, as contained in the heattreated exhaust gas, by causing it to react with oxygen by use of acatalyst.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an equivalent circuit diagram showing a DRAM according to oneembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a section of an essential portion of a semiconductor substrateand shows a step in a DRAM manufacturing process according to oneembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a section of the essential portion of the semiconductorsubstrate and shows a step in the DRAM manufacturing process accordingto the invention;

FIG. 4 is a section of the essential portion of the semiconductorsubstrate and shows a step in the DRAM manufacturing process accordingto the invention;

FIG. 5 is a section of the essential portion of the semiconductorsubstrate and shows a step in the DRAM manufacturing process accordingto the invention;

FIG. 6 is a section of the essential portion of the semiconductorsubstrate and shows a step in the DRAM manufacturing process accordingto the invention;

FIG. 7 is a section of the essential portion of the semiconductorsubstrate and shows a step in the DRAM manufacturing process accordingto the invention;

FIG. 8 is a section of the essential portion of the semiconductorsubstrate and shows a step in the DRAM manufacturing process accordingto the invention;

FIG. 9(a) is a schematic top plan view showing a single wafer typeoxidizing furnace to be used for light oxidations, and FIG. 9(b) is asection taken along line B-B′ of FIG. 9(a);

FIG. 10(a) is a schematic top plan view showing a single wafer typeoxidizing furnace to be used for light oxidations, and FIG. 10(b) is asection taken along line B-B′ of FIG. 10(a);

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a catalytic type steam/hydrogenmixed gas generator and a hydrogen gas eliminator which are connected tothe single wafer type oxidizing furnace;

FIG. 12 is a graph illustrating temperature dependencies of anequilibrium vapor pressure ratio of oxidizing/reducing reactions usingsteam/hydrogen mixed gases;

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a light oxidation process using a singlewafer type oxidizing furnace;

FIG. 14 is a section of the essential portion of the semiconductorsubstrate and shows a step in the DRAM manufacturing process accordingto an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 15 is a section of the essential portion of the semiconductorsubstrate and shows a step in the DRAM manufacturing process accordingto the invention;

FIG. 16 is a section of the essential portion of the semiconductorsubstrate and shows a step in the DRAM manufacturing process accordingto the invention;

FIG. 17 is a section of the essential portion of the semiconductorsubstrate and shows a step in the DRAM manufacturing process accordingto the invention;

FIG. 18 is a section of the essential portion of the semiconductorsubstrate and shows a step in the DRAM manufacturing process accordingto the invention;

FIG. 19 is a section of the essential portion of the semiconductorsubstrate and shows a step in the DRAM manufacturing process accordingto the invention;

FIG. 20 is a section of the essential portion of the semiconductorsubstrate and shows a step in the DRAM manufacturing process accordingto the invention;

FIG. 21 is a section of the essential portion of the semiconductorsubstrate and shows a step in the DRAM manufacturing process accordingto the invention;

FIG. 22 is a section of the essential portion of the semiconductorsubstrate and shows a step in the DRAM manufacturing process accordingto the invention;

FIG. 23 is a section of the essential portion of the semiconductorsubstrate and shows a step in the DRAM manufacturing process accordingto the invention;

FIG. 24 is a section of the essential portion of the semiconductorsubstrate and shows a step in the DRAM manufacturing process accordingto the invention;

FIG. 25 is a section of the essential portion of the semiconductorsubstrate and shows a step in the DRAM manufacturing process accordingto the invention;

FIG. 26 is a section of the essential portion of the semiconductorsubstrate and shows a step in the DRAM manufacturing process accordingto the invention;

FIG. 27 is a section of the essential portion of the semiconductorsubstrate and shows a step in the DRAM manufacturing process accordingto the invention;

FIG. 28 is a schematic diagram showing a batch type vertical hydrogenannealing furnace and a catalytic type hydrogen gas eliminator connectedto the furnace;

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing a sequence of a hydrogen annealing processusing the batch type vertical hydrogen annealing furnace;

FIG. 30 is a schematic diagram showing a batch type vertical oxidizingfurnace to be used for light oxidation treatment; and

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing a sequence of the light oxidation processusing the batch type vertical oxidizing furnace.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention will be described in detail in connection with variousembodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. Throughout allthe drawings for explaining the embodiments, however, the repeateddescription of members having identical functions will be omitted, whiledesignating such members by identical reference numerals.

The description of identical or similar portions will not be repeated inthe following description of the embodiments unless especiallynecessary.

Moreover, the following description, an embodiment will be described bydividing it into a plurality of sections or embodiments, if convenientlynecessary, which embodiments are not to be considered independent ofeach other, unless explicitly specified so, but each one is to beconsidered in relation to the modifications, details, supplementarydescriptions and so on of a portion or the entirety of another.

In the following description of the embodiments, moreover, whenreference is made to a number value or the like (including a number,numerical value, quantity and range) of an element, the number shouldnot be limited to a specific one, but may be more or less than thestated value unless it is explicitly specified or apparently limited onprinciple to the specific value.

In the following embodiments, still moreover, it is needless to mentionthat the components (including composing steps) are not alwaysindispensable unless explicitly specified to be or are apparentlyindispensable on principle.

Likewise, in the following embodiments, when a mention is made of theshape or positional relation of a component, it should include a shapeor the like substantially approximate or similar to the mentionedcharacteristic unless explicitly specified or apparently deemedotherwise on principle. This likewise applies to the aforementionednumerical value and range.

On the other hand, a semiconductor integrated circuit device shouldinclude, when mentioned herein, not only one formed over a siliconwafer, but also one formed over another type of substrate, such as TFTliquid crystal or the like, unless otherwise explicitly specified.Excepting this explicit denial, therefore, a semiconductor integratedcircuit wafer, a semiconductor wafer or simply a wafer should include avariety of the above-specified plate-shaped materials.

FIG. 1 is an equivalent circuit diagram of a DRAM according to oneembodiment of the present invention. As shown, a memory array (MARY) ofthe DRAM is equipped with a plurality of word lines WL (WLn−1, WLn,WLn+1, - - - , and so on) and a plurality of bit lines BL, arranged in amatrix shape, and a plurality of memory cells (MC) are arranged at thejunctions of those lines. One memory cell for storing information of onebit is constructed to include one information storing capacity element Cand one memory cell selecting MISFET Qs connected in series with thecapacity element C. One of the source and drain of the memory cellselecting MISFET Qs is electrically connected with the informationstoring capacity element C, and the other is electrically connected withthe bit line BL. One end of the word line WL is connected with a worddriver WD, and one end of the bit line BL is connected with a senseamplifier SA.

A DRAM manufacturing process for this embodiment will be described withreference to FIGS. 2 to 29. FIGS. 2 to 8 and FIGS. 14 to 27 are sectionsshowing the individual portions of the memory array (MARY) and aperipheral circuit (e.g., the sense amplifier SA); FIGS. 9 and 10 areschematic diagrams showing the single wafer type oxidizing furnaces tobe used for the light oxidations; FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showingthe catalytic type steam/hydrogen mixed gas generator and the hydrogengas eliminator which are connected to the chamber of the oxidizingfurnace; FIG. 12 is a graph illustrating temperature dependencies of anequilibrium vapor pressure ratio of oxidizing/reducing reactions usingsteam/hydrogen mixed gases; FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a sequence ofthe light oxidation process; FIG. 28 is a schematic diagram showing thebatch type vertical hydrogen annealing furnace and the catalytic typehydrogen gas eliminator connected to the furnace; and FIG. 29 is adiagram showing a sequence of a hydrogen annealing process. In thefollowing description, a numerical value, such as the thickness of athin film, is merely illustrative and is not a limitation on theinvention.

First of all, as shown in FIG. 2, a semiconductor substrate 1, made ofsingle crystalline silicon having a specific resistance of about 10 Ωcm,is heat treated to form a silicon oxide film 2 (or pad oxide film) asthin as about 10 nm over its principal face. Next, a silicon nitridefilm 3 having a thickness of about 100 nm is deposited over the siliconoxide film 2 by the CVD (Chemical vapor Deposition) method and is thenetched off from element isolating regions by using a photoresist film asa mask. The silicon oxide film 2 is formed to relieve the stress whichis applied to the substrate when the silicon oxide film to be buried ata later step in element isolating grooves is sintered (or baked). Thesilicon nitride film 3 is hard to oxidize so that it is utilized as amask for preventing the surface of its underlying (active) substratefrom being oxidized.

As shown in FIG. 3, the silicon nitride film 3 is used as a mask todry-etch the silicon oxide film 2 and the semiconductor substrate 1 toform grooves 4 a having a depth of about 300 to 400 nm in thesemiconductor substrate 1 at the element isolating regions.

In order to remove the damaged layer formed in the inner walls of thegrooves 4 a by the etching, as shown in FIG. 4, the semiconductorsubstrate 1 is then heat treated to form a silicon oxide film 5 having athickness of about 10 nm on the inner walls of the grooves 4 a. Afterthis, a silicon oxide film 6 is deposited over the semiconductorsubstrate 1 by the CVD method. In order to improve the quality of thesilicon oxide film 6, the semiconductor substrate 1 is then heat treatedto density (or bake) the silicon oxide film 6. After this, the siliconoxide film 6 is polished by a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) methodusing the silicon nitride film 3 as the stopper and is left in thegrooves 4 a to form element isolating grooves 4.

Next, the silicon nitride film 3 is removed from over the semiconductorsubstrate 1 by the wet-etching method using hot phosphoric acid. Afterthis, as shown in FIG. 5, a region (or memory array) to form the memorycell of the semiconductor substrate 1 and a region to form one portionof a peripheral circuit (or n-channel MISFET Qn) are doped with ions ofB (boron) to form a p-type well 7, and a region to form the otherportion (or p-type channel MISFET Qp) is doped with ions of P (phosphor)to form an n-type well 8.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the silicon oxide film 2 over the individualsurfaces of the p-type well 7 and the n-type well 8 are removed with arinsing liquid of HR. (hydrofluoric acid). After this, the semiconductorsubstrate 1 is wet-oxidized to form a clean gate oxide film 9 having athickness of about 5 nm over the individual surfaces of the p-type well7 and the n-type well 8.

After the gate oxide film 9 was formed, although the invention is notespecially limited thereto, an oxidation/nitriding to segregate nitrogenin the interface between the gate oxide film 9 and the semiconductorsubstrate 1 may be performed by heat treating the semiconductorsubstrate 1 in the atmosphere of NO (nitric oxide) or N₂O (nitrousoxide). When the gate oxide film 9 becomes as thin as about 5 nm, astrain occurring in the interface between the gate oxide film 9 and thesemiconductor substrate 1 is actualized by the difference between theircoefficients of thermal expansion to induce generation of hot carriers.This strain is relieved by the nitrogen segregated in the interface withthe semiconductor substrate 1, so that the aforementionedoxidation/nitriding can improve the reliability of the extremely thingate oxide film 9.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7, gate electrodes 14A (or word lines WL) andgate electrodes 14B and 14C having a gate length of 0.24 microns areformed over the gate oxide film 9. These gate electrodes 14A (or wordlines WL) and gate electrodes 14B and 14C are formed by depositing apolycrystalline silicon film 10, as doped-with an n-type impurity, suchas P (phosphor), to have a thickness of about 70 nm, over thesemiconductor substrate 1, by the CVD method, and by depositing a WNfilm 11 having a thickness of about 30 nm and a W film 12 having athickness of about 100 nm over the polycrystalline silicon film 10 bythe sputtering method, by depositing a silicon nitride film 13 having athickness of about 150 nm over the films 11 and 12 by the CVD method,and by patterning those films by using a photoresist as a mask.

When the gate electrodes 14A (or word lines WL) are partially made of ametal (W) having a low resistance, their sheet resistance can be loweredto about 2 Ω/□ to reduce the word line delay. Since this word line delaycan be reduced even if the gate electrodes 14 (or word lines) are backedup with Al wiring, moreover, the number of the wiring layers to beformed over the memory cells can be reduced by one.

After this, the photoresist is ashed off, and the semiconductorsubstrate 1 is cleared of the dry-etching residue and the ashing residuefrom its surface by using an etching liquid such as hydrofluoric acid.By this wet-etching, as shown in FIG. 8, the gate oxide film 9 in theregions other than those below the gate electrodes 14A (or word lines)(and the not-shown gate electrodes 14B and 14C) are etched off, and thegate electrodes 14 below the gate side walls is also isotropicallyetched off to establish an under-cut. Then, there arises a disadvantagethat the withstand voltage of the gate oxide film 9 drops. In order toreproduce the removed gate oxide film 9, therefore, a re-oxidation (orlight oxidation) is performed by the following method.

FIG. 9(a) is a schematic top plan view showing one example of thespecific construction of a single wafer type oxidizing furnace to beused for light oxidations, and FIG. 9(b) is a section taken along lineB-B′ of FIG. 9(a).

This single wafer type oxidizing furnace 100 is equipped with a chamber101 made of a multi-walled quartz tube, over and under which there areplaced heaters 102 a and 102 b for heating a semiconductor wafer 1A. Inthe chamber 101, there is disposed a disc-shaped soaking ring 103 fordispersing the heat from those heaters 102 a and 102 b homogeneously allover the surface of the semiconductor wafer 1A. The soaking ring 103 isoverlain by a susceptor 104 for holding the semiconductor wafer 1A in ahorizontal position. The soaking ring 103 is made of a heat-resistingmaterial such as quartz or Sic (silicon carbide) and is supported by asupport arm 105 extending from the wall face of the chamber 101. In thevicinity of the soaking ring 103, there is placed a thermocouple 106 formeasuring the temperature of the semiconductor wafer 1A held by thesusceptor 104 The semiconductor wafer 1A may be heated not only by theheaters 102 a and 102 b but also by a lamp 107, for example, as shown inFIG. 10.

To a portion of the wall face of the chamber 101, there is connected oneend of a gas inlet pipe 108 for introducing the steam/hydrogen mixed gasand a purge gas into the chamber 101. To the other end of the gas inletpipe 108, there is connected a catalytic type gas generator, as will bedescribed. In the vicinity of the gas inlet pipe 108, there is disposeda partition 110 having a number of through holes 109 so that the gas, asintroduced into the chamber 101, is uniformly distributed in the chamber101 through the through holes 109 of the partition 110. To anotherportion of the wall face of the chamber 101, there is connected one endof an exhaust pipe 111 for discharging the gas introduced into thechamber 101. To the other end of the exhaust pipe 111, there isconnected a catalytic type gas eliminator, as will be described.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing the catalytic type steam/hydrogenmixed gas generator 140 and a hydrogen gas eliminator 150 which areconnected to the single wafer type oxidizing furnace 100.

The steam/hydrogen mixed gas generator 140 is equipped with a reactor141 a made of a heat/corrosion-resisting alloy (e.g., the Ni alloy knownunder the trade name “Hastelloy”). In the reactor 141 a, there arehoused a coil 142 made of a catalytic metal such as Pt (platinum), Ni(nickel) or Pd (palladium) and a heater 143 for heating the coil 142.

Into the reactor 141 a of the gas generator 140, there are introducedthe hydrogen gas, the oxygen gas and the purge gas in the form of aninert gas of nitrogen or Ar (argon) from individual gas reservoirs 144a, 144 b and 144 c via a pipe 145. Between these gas reservoirs 144 a,144 b and 144 c and the pipe 145, there are interposed mass flowcontrollers 146 a, 146 b and 146 c for regulating the gas flows andcontrol valves 147 a, 147 b and 147 c for opening/closing the passagesfor the gases, so that the flows and ratios of gases to be introducedinto the reactor 141 a are precisely controlled.

The hydrogen gas and the oxygen gas, as introduced into the reactor 141a, come into contact with the coil 142 which has been heated to about350 to 450° C. (for which it is well known that the lowest temperaturefor the oxygen/hydrogen mixed gas to burn explosively is generally atabout 550° C. under the atmospheric pressure) so that they are excitedto generate hydrogen radicals (H₂→2H⁺) from the hydrogen molecules andoxygen radicals (O₂→2O⁺) from the oxygen molecules. These two kinds ofradicals are so chemically active that they instantly react to generatewater (or steam) (2H⁺+O⁺H₂O). By introducing into the reactor 141 a thehydrogen/oxygen mixed gas containing more hydrogen than the mole ratio(hydrogen:oxygen=2:1) to generate water, therefore, it is possible togenerate the steam/hydrogen mixed gas. The steam/hydrogen mixed gas thusgenerated is introduced via the gas inlet pipe 108 into the chamber 101of the oxidizing furnace 100.

Since the catalytic type gas generator 140 can control the quantitiesand ratio of the hydrogen and oxygen involved in the water generation ina highly precise manner, the steam concentration in the steam/hydrogenmixed gas to be introduced into the chamber 101 can be highly preciselycontrolled over a wide range from an extremely low value on the order ofppm to a high value of several tens %. Moreover, the water is generatedinstantly as the process gas is introduced into the reactor 141 a sothat the steam/hydrogen mixed gas of a desired steam concentration canbe generated in real time. As a result, the immigration of a foreignsubstance can be minimized to introduce a clean steam/hydrogen mixed gasinto the chamber 101. Here, the catalytic metal in the reactor 141 ashould not be limited to the above-specified one, but can be othermaterials which can radicalize hydrogen and oxygen. Moreover, thecatalytic metal can be used not only by coiling it, but also by workingit into hollow tubes or a fine fiber filter to pass the process gastherethrough.

FIG. 12 is a graph illustrating the temperature dependencies of anequilibrium vapor pressure ratio (P(H₂O)/P(H₂)) of oxidizing/reducingreactions using steam/hydrogen mixed gases. Curves (a) to (e) appearingin FIG. 12 illustrate the equilibrium vapor pressures of W, Mo, Ta(tantalum), Si and Ti, respectively.

By setting the steam/hydrogen partial pressure ratio of thesteam/hydrogen mixed gas to be introduced into the chamber 101 of theoxidizing furnace 100 in the range of the region defined by the curves(a) and (d), as illustrated in FIG. 12, only Si can be selectivelyoxidized without oxidizing the W film 12 forming portions of the gateelectrodes 14A (or word lines WL) and the gate electrodes 14B and 14Cand the WN film 11 or the barrier layer. As illustrated, the oxidationrate of any of the metals (W, Mo, Ta or Ti) and Si lowers as the steamconcentration in the steam/hydrogen mixed gas lowers. By lowering thesteam concentration in the steam/hydrogen mixed gas, therefore, it iseasy to control the oxidation rate and the oxidized film thickness ofSi.

Likewise, when the gate electrodes are partially made of a Mo film, onlySi can be selectively oxidized without any oxidation of the Mo film bysetting the steam/hydrogen partial pressure within the range of theregion defined by the curves (b) and (d). When the gate electrodes arepartially made of a Ta film, on the other hand, only the Si can beselectively oxidized without any oxidation of the Ta film by setting thesteam/hydrogen partial pressure ratio within the range of a regiondefined by the curves (c) and (d).

Since Ti has a higher oxidation rate than that of Si in the atmosphereof the steam/hydrogen mixed gas, as shown, only Si cannot be selectivelyoxidized without any oxidation of the Ti film or the TiN film when thegate electrodes are partially made of the Ti film or when the barrierlayer is made of the TiN film. In this case, however, the oxidationrates and the oxide film thicknesses of the Ti film, the TiN film andthe Si can be easily controlled by setting the steam in thesteam/hydrogen mixed gas to an extremely low concentration, so that theoxidation of the Ti film or the TiN film can be minimized to suppressthe characteristic deterioration of the gate electrodes within a rangewherein there is no practical problem. Specifically, the upper limit ofthe steam concentration is desired to be lower than about 1 Since somequantity of steam is required for improving the profile of the endportions of the side walls of the gate electrodes, moreover, the lowerlimit is desired to be at about 10 ppm to 100 ppm.

The steam/hydrogen mixed gas, as introduced into the chamber 101 of theoxidizing furnace 100, is introduced via the exhaust pipe 111 into areactor 141 b of the hydrogen gas eliminator 150, as shown in FIG. 11,after the end of the light oxidation of the semiconductor wafer 1A. Atthis time, the oxygen gas is fed via a pipe 151 from the gas reservoir144 a to the inside of the exhaust pipe 111 so that it is introducedtogether with the steam/hydrogen mixed gas into the reactor 141 b.Between the gas reservoir 144 a and the pipe 151, there are interposed amass flow controller 146 d for regulating the flow of the oxygen gas anda control valve 147 d for opening/closing the passage of the oxygen gas,so that the flow of the oxygen gas to be introduced into the reactor 141b is precisely controlled by the controller and the valve. Midway of theexhaust pipe 111, moreover, there is disposed a check valve 152 forpreventing the back flow of the oxygen gas into the chamber 101 of theoxidizing furnace 100.

The reactor 141 b of the hydrogen gas eliminator 150 is made, like thereactor 141 a of the aforementioned gas generator 140, of aheat-/corrosion-resisting alloy. In the reactor 141 b, there are housedthe coil 142 made of a catalytic metal, such as Pt, Ni or Pd, and theheater 143 for heating the coil 142. The hydrogen gas and the oxygengas, as introduced into that reactor 141 b, come into contact with thecoil 142 which has been heated to about 350 to 450° C. (for which it iswell known that the lowest temperature for the oxygen/hydrogen mixed gasto burn explosively is generally at about 550° C. under atmosphericpressure) so that they are excited. As a result, the hydrogen radicalsgenerated from the hydrogen molecules and the oxygen radicals generatedfrom the oxygen molecules instantly react to generate water (or steam).

When the steam/hydrogen mixed gas, as discharged from the oxidizingfurnace 100, is to be introduced into the reactor 141 b, therefore, asimultaneous introduction is made of oxygen of at least one half (atmole ratio) of the hydrogen in the mixed gas. As a result, the hydrogengas can be completely oxidized into water. This oxygen gas may be eitherintroduced into the reactor 141 b prior to the introduction of thesteam/hydrogen mixed gas or continuously fed to the inside of thereactor 141 b at all times via the pipe 151 and the exhaust pipe 111.The water (or steam) thus generated in the reactor 141 b is dischargedtogether with the excessive oxygen gas to the outside via an exhaustpipe 153. Midway of this exhaust pipe 153, there are disposed a hydrogengas sensor 154 for confirming whether or not the hydrogen gas has beencompletely converted into water and a cooler 155 for liquefying the hotsteam discharged.

One example of a sequence of the light oxidation process using theoxidizing furnace 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 13.

First of all, the chamber 101 of the oxidizing furnace 100 is opened,and the susceptor 104 is loaded thereon with the semiconductor wafer 1Awhile the purge gas (nitrogen) is being introduced into the inside ofthe chamber 101. After this, the chamber 101 is closed, and the purgegas is continuously introduced to interchange the gas in the chamber 101sufficiently. The susceptor 104 is heated in advance with the heaters102 a and 102 b so that the semiconductor wafer 1A may be quicklyheated. The heating temperature of the semiconductor wafer 1A is setwithin a range of 800 to 900° C., such as 850° C. At a wafer temperatureof 800° C. or less, the silicon oxide film has a deteriorated quality.At a temperature of 900° C. or more, on the other hand, the wafer isliable to have a roughed surface.

Next, hydrogen is introduced into the chamber 101 to discharge thenitrogen. This nitrogen desirably should be completely discharged,because an undesired nitriding may occur if the nitrogen is left in thechamber 101.

Next, oxygen and excess hydrogen are introduced into the reactor 141 ofthe gas generator 140, and the water, as generated from the oxygen andthe hydrogen by the catalytic action, is introduced together with theexcess hydrogen into the chamber 101 to oxidize the surface of thesemiconductor wafer 1A for a predetermined time period. As a result, thegate oxide film 9, as wet-etched and thinned, is oxidized again toimprove the profiles of the end portions of the side walls of theundercut gate electrodes 14A (or word lines WL) and the gate electrodes14B and 14C.

If the aforementioned light oxidation is performed for a long time, thethickness of the oxide film in the vicinity of the end portions of thegate electrodes increases more than necessary to cause offsets in theend portions of the gate electrodes and to shift the threshold voltage(Vth) of the MOSFETs from a design value. There arises another problemthat the effective channel length becomes shorter than the worked valueof the gate electrodes. Especially, the miniature MOSFETs having a gatelength of around 0.25 microns are strictly restricted from the aspect ofthe element design in the allowance of the gate working size forbecoming thin from the designed value. This is because the thresholdvoltage is abruptly lowered by the short channel effect even when thethinning quantity slightly increases. In the case of gate electrodeshaving a gate length of around 0.25 microns, a level, at which the endportions of the sidewalls of the polycrystalline silicon film formingthe portions of the gate electrodes are lightly oxidized by about 0.1microns (or about 0.2 microns for the two ends), is thought to be alimit for not causing abrupt reduction in the threshold voltage. Hence,the oxide film thickness to be grown by the light oxidation is desiredto be limited to not more than 1.5 times the gate oxide film thickness.

Next, the purge gas (or nitrogen) is introduced into the chamber 101 todischarge the unnecessary steam/hydrogen mixed gas to the outside viathe exhaust pipe 111. After this, the chamber 101 is opened to unloadthe semiconductor wafer 1A from the susceptor 104 while being fed withthe purge gas. On the other hand, the steam/hydrogen mixed gas, asdischarged from the chamber 101, is fed together with the oxygen gas, asfed via the pipe 151, to the reactor 141 b of the hydrogen gaseliminator 150 so that the hydrogen gas in the mixed gas and the oxygengas are converted into water (or steam) by catalytic action. The steamis forcibly discharged together with the excess oxygen gas to theoutside via the exhaust pipe 153 so that it is liquefied by the cooler155. After this, the oxygen is discharged to the outside via the exhaustduct, and the water is discharged via the drain.

Here, the hydrogen gas can be oxidized with dry air in place of thehydrogen gas. Considering the content (about 21%) of oxygen in the air,the dry air containing oxygen of at least one half (in mole ratio) ofthe content of hydrogen in the steam/hydrogen mixed gas is introducedinto the reactor 141 b so that the hydrogen gas can be completelyconverted into water.

Here will be described the DRAM process after the light oxidation stepthus far described. First of all, the n-type well 8 is doped with theions of a p-type impurity such as B (boron), as shown in FIG. 14, toform a p⁻-type semiconductor region 16 in the n-type wells 8 at the twosides of the gate electrode 14C. Moreover, the p-type well 7 is dopedwith the ions of an n-type impurity such as P (phosphor) to form n⁻-typesemiconductor regions 17 in the p-type wells 7 at the two sides of thegate electrode 14B and n-type semiconductor regions 18 in the p-typewell 7 at the two sides of the gate electrodes 14A.

Next, a silicon nitride film 19 is deposited over the semiconductorsubstrate 1 by the CVD method, as shown in FIG. 15. After this, thememory array is covered with a photoresist film 20, as shown in FIG. 16,and the silicon nitride film 19 of the peripheral circuit isanisotropically etched to form side wall spacers 19 a at the side wallsof the gate electrodes 14B and 14C. This etching employs an etching gasto limit the over-etching amount to the necessary minimum and to take alarge selection ratio to the silicon oxide film 6 so as to minimize theremoval of the silicon oxide film 6 buried in the element isolatinggrooves 4 and the silicon nitride film 19 on the gate electrodes 14B and14C.

Next, as shown in FIG. 17, the p-type well 7 of the peripheral circuitis doped with the ions of an n-type impurity such as As (arsenic) toform an n⁺-type semiconductor region 21 (or source and drain) of then-channel MISFET Qn, and the n-type well 2 is doped with the ions of ap-type impurity such as B (boron) to form p⁺-type semiconductor region22 (or source and drain) of the p-channel MISFET Qp.

Next, a silicon oxide film 23 is deposited on the semiconductorsubstrate 1 by the CVD method, as shown in FIG. 18, and its surface isflattened by using a chemical mechanical polishing method. After this,the silicon oxide film 23 over the n-type semiconductor region 18 (orsource and drain) of the memory cell selecting MISFET Qs is removed bydry etching using a photoresist film 24 as a mask. This etching isperformed under a condition to raise the etching rate of the siliconoxide film 23 for the silicon nitride films 13 and 19 so that thesilicon nitride film 19 over the n-type semiconductor region 18 may notbe removed.

Next, the silicon nitride film 19 and the gate oxide film 9 over then-type semiconductor region 18 (or source and drain) of the memory cellselecting MISFET Qs are removed by dry etching using the photoresistfilm 24 as a mask, as shown in FIG. 19, to form a contact hole 25 overone (or the n-type semiconductor region 18) of the source and drain anda contact hole 26 over the other (or the n-type semiconductor region18). This etching employs an etching gas to reduce the over-etchingamount to the necessary minimum and to increase a selection ratio forthe semiconductor substrate 1 (of silicon) so as to minimize the removalof the semiconductor substrate 1. Moreover, this etching is performedunder the condition to etch the silicon nitride film 19 anisotropicallythereby to leave the silicon nitride film 19 at the side walls of thegate electrodes 14A (or the word lines WL). Thus, the contact holes 25and 26 are formed in self-alignment with the gate electrodes 14A (or theword lines WL). In order to form the contact holes 25 and 26 inself-alignment with the gate electrodes 14A (or the word lines WL), thesilicon nitride film 19 may be anisotropically etched in advance to formside wall spacers at the side walls of the gate electrodes 14A (or theword lines WL).

Next, plugs 27 are buried in the contact holes 25 and 26, as shown inFIG. 20. After this, a silicon oxide film 28 is deposited on the siliconoxide film 23 by the CVD method and is then removed from over thecontact hole 25 by dry-etching using a photoresist film 29 as a mask. Inorder to bury the plugs 27 in the contact holes 25 and 26, a polycrystalsilicon film, as doped with P (phosphor), is deposited on the siliconoxide film 23 by the CVD method and is then polished by a chemicalmechanical polishing method so that it is removed from over the siliconoxide film 23. The P (phosphor) in the polycrystal silicon film ispartially diffused from the bottom portions of the contact holes 25 and26 into the n-type semiconductor region 18 (or source and drain) by asubsequent hot process to lower the resistance of the n-typesemiconductor region 18.

Next, the silicon oxide films 28 and 23 and the gate oxide film 9, inthe form of the peripheral circuit, are removed by dry-etching using aphotoresist film 30 as a mask, as shown in FIG. 21, to form contactholes 31 and 32 over the source and drain (or n⁺-type semiconductorregion 21) of the n-channel MISFET Qn and contact holes 33 and 34 overthe source and drain (or p⁺-type semiconductor region 22) of a p-channelMISFET Qp. This etching is performed under the condition to increase theetching rate of the silicon oxide film for the silicon nitride film 13and the side wall spacers 19a thereby to form the contact holes 31 and32 in self-alignment with the gate electrode 14B and the contact holes33 and 34 in self-alignment with the gate electrode 14C.

Next, the bit lines BL and first-layer wiring lines 35 and 36 of theperipheral circuit are formed over the silicon oxide film 28, as shownin FIG. 22. These bit lines BL and first-layer wiring lines 35 and 36are formed, for example, by depositing a TiN film and a W film on thesilicon oxide film 28 by the sputtering method, by depositing a siliconoxide film 37 on the W film by the CVD method, and by patterning thosedeposited films sequentially by etching using a photoresist film as amask.

Next, a silicon oxide film 38 is deposited on the bit lines BL and thefirst-layer wiring lines 35 and 36 by the CVD method, as shown in FIG.23, and the silicon oxide films 38 and 28 over the contact holes 27 areremoved by dry-etching using the photoresist film as a mask to formthrough holes 39. After this, plugs 40 are buried in the through holes39. The plugs 40 are formed, for example, by depositing the W film onthe silicon oxide film 38 by the sputtering method and by polishing theW film by a chemical mechanical polishing method to leave it in thethrough holes 39.

Next, an information storing capacity element C, as constructed of alaminated structure of a lower electrode 41, a capacity insulating film42 and an upper electrode 43, is formed over the through holes 39, asshown in FIG. 24, to substantially complete a memory cell of the DRAM,as constructed of the memory cell selecting MISFET Qs and theinformation storing capacity element C connected in series with theMISFET Qs. The lower electrode 41 of the information storing capacityelement C is formed, for example, by depositing the W film on thesilicon oxide film 38 by the CVD method or the sputtering method and bypatterning the W film by dry-etching using the photoresist film as amask. The capacity insulating film 42 and the upper electrode 43 areformed by depositing a tantalum oxide film on the lower electrode 41 bythe CVD method or the sputtering method, by depositing a TiN film on thetantalum film by the sputtering method, and by patterning those filmssequentially by etching using the photoresist film as a mask.

Next, a silicon oxide film 44 is deposited on the information storingcapacity element C by the CVD method, as shown in FIG. 25, and throughholes 45 and 46 are formed over the information storing capacity elementC and the first-layer wiring line 35 of the peripheral circuit bydry-etching using the photoresist film as a mask. After this, plugs 47are buried in the through holes 45 and 46. These plugs 47 are formed,for example, by depositing a W film on the silicon oxide film 44 by thesputtering method and by polishing the W film by the chemical mechanicalpolishing method to leave it in the through holes 45 and 46. Next, a TiNfilm, an Al (aluminum) film and a TiN film are sequentially deposited onthe silicon oxide film 44 by the sputtering method and are thenpatterned by dry-etching using the photoresist film as a mask to formsecond-layer wiring lines 48 to 51.

Next, a silicon oxide film 52 is deposited on the second-layer wiringlines 48 to 51 by the CVD method, as shown in FIG. 26, and through holes53 are formed over the second-layer wiring line 51 by dry-etching usingthe photoresist film as a mask. After this, plugs 54 are buried in thethrough holes 53. These plugs 54 are formed, for example, by depositinga W film on the silicon oxide film 53 and by polishing the W film by thechemical mechanical polishing method to leave it in the through holes53. Next, a TiN film, an Al film and a TiN film are sequentiallydeposited on the silicon oxide film 52 by the sputtering method and arethen patterned by dry-etching using the photoresist film as a mask toform a third-layer wiring line 55.

Next, a passivation film 56 is deposited on the third-layer wiring line55, as shown in FIG. 27. This passivation film 56 is constructed of asilicon oxide film and a silicon nitride film which are deposited by theCVD method, for example.

Next, the polycrystalline silicon film and the Si (silicon) substrate,forming portions of the gate electrodes 14A (or word lines WL) and thegate electrodes 14B and 14C, are hydrogen-annealed by a batch typevertical hydrogen annealing furnace 160, as shown in FIG. 28, so thatthey may be fed with hydrogen.

This hydrogen annealing furnace 160 is equipped with a cylindricalchamber 161 made of a quartz tube. This cylindrical chamber 161 issurrounded by heaters 162 a and 162 b for heating the semiconductorwafer 1A. A wafer boat 163 carrying a plurality of semiconductor wafers1A, is mounted in the chamber 161 by running a boat elevator 164 upward.

A predetermined amount of hydrogen gas is introduced into the chamber161 via a gas inlet pipe 165. This hydrogen gas is introduced, after thecompletion of the hydrogen annealing of the semiconductor wafer 1A, intothe hydrogen gas eliminator 150 via an exhaust pipe 166. At this time,hydrogen gas is introduced via a pipe 167 from the gas reservoir 144 ainto the hydrogen gas eliminator 150. Between the gas reservoir 144 aand the pipe 167, there are interposed a mass flow controller 146 e forregulating the mass flow of hydrogen gas and a control valve 147 e foropening/closing the passage of the oxygen gas, so that the flow of theoxygen gas to be introduced into the hydrogen gas eliminator 150 isprecisely controlled by the controller 146 e and the valve 147 e. Midwayof the exhaust pipe 166, on the other end, there is disposed the checkvalve 152 for preventing the back flow of the oxygen gas into thechamber 161 of the hydrogen annealing furnace 160.

The hydrogen gas eliminator 150 is equipped with the same reactor (141b) as that shown in FIG. 11. Specifically, the reactor of the hydrogengas eliminator 150 is made of a heat-/corrosion-resisting alloy andhouses a coil made of a catalytic metal such as Pt, Ni or Pd and aheater for heating the coil. The hydrogen gas and the oxygen gas, asintroduced into the reactor, are excited in contact with the coil heatedto about 350 to 450° C., so that the hydrogen radicals generated fromthe hydrogen molecules and the oxygen radicals generated from the oxygenmolecules quickly react to generate water (or steam).

When the hydrogen gas, as discharged from the hydrogen annealing furnace160, is to be introduced into the reactor of the hydrogen gas eliminator150, therefore, a simultaneous introduction is made of oxygen of atleast one half (at mole ratio) of the hydrogen so that the hydrogen gascan be completely oxidized into water. This oxygen gas may be eitherintroduced into the reactor prior to the introduction of the hydrogengas or continuously fed to the inside of the reactor at all times viathe pipe 167. The water (or steam) thus generated in the reactor isdischarged together with the excessive oxygen gas to the outside via theexhaust pipe 153. Midway of this exhaust pipe 153, there are disposedthe hydrogen gas sensor 154 for confirming whether or not the hydrogengas has been completely converted into water and the cooler 155 forliquefying the hot steam being discharged.

Next, one example of the sequence of the hydrogen annealing processusing the hydrogen annealing furnace 160 will be described withreference to FIG. 29.

First of all, the wafer boat 163, loaded with a plurality ofsemiconductor wafers 1A, is mounted in the chamber 161 of the hydrogenannealing furnace 160. After this, the purge gas (or nitrogen gas) isintroduced into the chamber 161 via the gas inlet pipe 165 tointerchange the gases sufficiently, and the heaters 162 a and 162 b areused to heat the semiconductor wafers 1A to about 400° C. Next, thehydrogen gas is introduced via the gas inlet pipe 165 into the chamber161 so that the semiconductor wafers 1A are heat treated for about 30minutes to terminate the dangling bonds of Si with the hydrogen.

Next, the purge gas is introduced into the chamber 161 to discharge theunnecessary hydrogen gas to the outside via the exhaust pipe 166. Afterthis, the wafer boat 163 is extracted from the hydrogen annealingfurnace 160 to unload the semiconductor wafers 1A.

On the other hand, the hydrogen gas, discharged from the chamber 161 viathe exhaust pipe 166, is fed together with the oxygen gas, as fed viathe pipe 167, to the reactor of the hydrogen gas eliminator 150 so thatthe oxygen gas and the hydrogen gas are converted into water (or steam)by catalytic action. This steam is forcibly discharged together with theexcessive oxygen gas to the outside via the exhaust pipe 153 so that itis liquefied by the cooler 155. After this, the oxygen gas is dischargedto the outside via the exhaust duct, and the water is discharged via thedrain.

Here, the hydrogen gas may be oxidized with dry air in place of theoxygen gas. Considering the content (about 21%) of oxygen in the air,the dry air containing oxygen of at least one half (in mole ratio) ofthe amount of hydrogen is introduced into the reactor so that thehydrogen gas can be completely converted into water.

Although our invention has been specifically described in connectionwith various embodiments, it should not be limited thereto but cannaturally be modified in various manners without departing from the gistthereof.

The aforementioned light oxidation of the gate oxide film can beperformed by connecting the catalytic steam/hydrogen mixed gas generator140 and the hydrogen gas eliminator 150 to a batch type verticaloxidizing furnace 170 as shown in FIG. 30. The light oxidation processusing this batch type vertical oxidizing furnace 170 is exemplified inFIG. 31.

Alternatively, the hydrogen in the exhaust gas could be eliminated byconnecting the hydrogen gas eliminator 150 to the exhaust line of anoxidizing furnace for processing the steam/hydrogen mixed gas which isgenerated by the so-called “bubbling system” of introducing the hydrogengas into pure water contained in a container.

The foregoing embodiment has been described on both the elimination ofthe hydrogen gas which is discharged at the light oxidation step of theMOSFETs and the hydrogen gas which is discharged at the hydrogenannealing after the passivation film was formed. The invention shouldnot be limited thereto but could be applied to the elimination of thehydrogen gas which is discharged at a variety of hydrogen annealingsteps to be performed in the semiconductor manufacturing process, suchas a hydrogen annealing step for forming a non-defective layer on thesurface of a Si wafer formed by the CZ (Czochralski) method, a hydrogenannealing step after an epitaxial layer was formed on the surface of aSi wafer, or a hydrogen annealing step to be performed in the course ofthe process for measuring the electric characteristics of a Si wafer.

On the other hand, the hydrogen gas elimination efficiency may beimproved by concentrating the exhaust lines of a plurality of oxidizingfurnaces and hydrogen annealing furnaces at one location and byconnecting the hydrogen gas eliminator to a midway point of the exhaustlines. When one hydrogen gas eliminator is connected to the exhaust lineof one oxidizing furnace or to the exhaust line of one hydrogenannealing furnace, as in the foregoing embodiment, on the other hand,the passage from the oxidizing furnace or the hydrogen annealing furnaceto the hydrogen gas eliminator can be shortened to improve the safety.

The effects to be achieved by a representative aspect of the inventiondisclosed herein will be briefly described in the following.

According to the hydrogen eliminating process of the invention, thehydrogen in the exhaust gas to be discharged from a gas-phase processingapparatus can be completely converted into water so that the hydrogen inthe exhaust gas can be completely eliminated without any possibilitythat unburned hydrogen will be discharged to the outside, unlike thehydrogen eliminating process according to the combustion method.

According to the hydrogen eliminating process of the invention,moreover, the eliminator can be made smaller to lower the cost formanufacturing the apparatus even more than either the eliminationprocess, in which the hydrogen gas to be discharged from the gas-phaseprocessing apparatus is diluted with much nitrogen gas or air anddischarged to the atmosphere, or the combustion process.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for manufacturing semiconductor devices,comprising the steps of: (a) performing heat treatment, under a gasambient including hydrogen gas, on a wafer placed in a reaction furnace;(b) discharging the gas ambient from the reaction furnace; and (c)transforming hydrogen gas included in the discharged gas ambient intowater by treating the discharged gas ambient with an oxidizing catalyst.2. A method for manufacturing semiconductor devices according to claim1, wherein the transformation of the hydrogen gas into water isperformed at a temperature lower than the ignition point of hydrogen andoxygen gas mixtures.
 3. A method for manufacturing semiconductor devicesaccording to claim 2, wherein the oxidizing catalyst is disposed in thevicinity of the reaction furnace.
 4. A method for manufacturingsemiconductor devices according to claim 3, wherein the heat treatmentis performed at a temperature higher than 800° C.
 5. A method formanufacturing semiconductor devices, comprising the steps of: (a)performing heat treatment, under a gas ambient including flammable gas,on a wafer placed in a reaction furnace; (b) discharging the gas ambientfrom the reaction furnace; and (c) transforming the flammable gasincluded in the gas ambient into only at least one nonflammable gas, bytreating the discharged gas ambient with an oxidizing catalyst.
 6. Amethod for manufacturing semiconductor devices according to claim 5,wherein the oxidizing catalyst is disposed in the vicinity of thereaction furnace.
 7. A method for manufacturing semiconductor devicesaccording to claim 6, wherein the heat treatment is performed at atemperature higher than 800° C.
 8. A method for manufacturingsemiconductor devices, comprising the steps of: (a) performing heattreatment, under a gas ambient including (1) water vapor synthesizedwith a synthesizing catalyst and (2) flammable gas, on a wafer placed ina reaction furnace; (b) discharging the gas ambient from the reactionfurnace; and (c) transforming the flammable gas included in thedischarged gas ambient into only at least one nonflammable gas, bytreating the discharged gas ambient with an oxidizing catalyst.
 9. Amethod for manufacturing semiconductor devices according to claim 8,wherein the synthesizing and oxidizing catalysts are respectivelydisposed in the vicinity of the reaction furnace.
 10. A method formanufacturing semiconductor devices according to claim 9, wherein theheat treatment is performed at a temperature higher than 800° C.
 11. Amethod for manufacturing semiconductor devices, comprising the steps of:(a) performing heat treatment, under a gas ambient including hydrogengas and water vapor, on a wafer placed in a reaction furnace, said waferhaving a first region including silicon as a principal component and asecond region not including silicon as a principal component, therebyselectively thermally oxidizing the first region; (b) discharging thegas ambient from the reaction furnace; and (c) transforming hydrogen gasincluded in the discharged gas ambient into water, by treating thedischarged gas ambient with an oxidizing catalyst.
 12. A method formanufacturing semiconductor devices according to claim 11, wherein thetransformation of the hydrogen gas into water is performed at atemperature lower than the ignition point of hydrogen and oxygen gasmixtures.
 13. A method for manufacturing semiconductor devices accordingto claim 12, wherein the oxidizing catalyst is disposed in the vicinityof the reaction furnace.
 14. A method for manufacturing semiconductordevices according to claim 13, wherein the heat treatment is performedat a temperature higher than 800° C.
 15. A method for manufacturingsemiconductor devices, comprising the steps of: (a) performing heattreatment, under a gas ambient including hydrogen gas and water vapor,on a wafer placed in a reaction furnace, said wafer having a firstregion and a second region which is different from the first region inits material, thereby selectively thermally oxidizing the first region;(b) discharging the gas ambient from the reaction furnace; and (c)transforming hydrogen gas included in the discharged gas ambient intowater, by treating the discharged gas ambient with an oxidizingcatalyst.
 16. A method for manufacturing semiconductor devices accordingto claim 15, wherein the transformation of the hydrogen gas into wateris performed at a temperature lower than the ignition point of hydrogenand oxygen gas mixtures.
 17. A method for manufacturing semiconductordevices according to claim 16, wherein the oxidizing catalyst isdisposed in the vicinity of the reaction furnace.
 18. A method formanufacturing semiconductor devices according to claim 17, wherein theheat treatment is performed at a temperature higher than 800° C.
 19. Amethod for manufacturing semiconductor devices, comprising the steps of:(a) performing heat treatment, under a gas ambient including flammablegas, on a wafer placed in a reaction furnace; (b) discharging the gasambient from the reaction furnace; and (c) transforming the flammablegas included in the discharged gas ambient into only at least onenonflammable gas by treating the discharged gas ambient with anoxidizing catalyst disposed in the vicinity of the reaction furnace. 20.A method for manufacturing semiconductor devices according to claim 19,wherein the transformation of the hydrogen gas into water is performedat a temperature lower than the ignition point of hydrogen and oxygengas mixtures.
 21. A method for manufacturing semiconductor devicesaccording to claim 20, wherein the heat treatment is performed at atemperature higher than 800° C.
 22. A method for manufacturingsemiconductor devices, comprising the steps of: (a) forming a siliconfilm over a gate insulation film having a silicon oxide film formed overa silicon surface of a major surface of a wafer; (b) forming arefractory metal film including tungsten as a principal component overthe silicon film, through the medium of a barrier layer; (c) forming agate electrode by patterning the silicon film and the refractory metalfilm; (d) after step (c), thermally oxidizing the silicon and siliconportions of the wafer placed in a thermal oxidizing region under a mixedgas ambient including (1) water vapor, synthesized with a synthesizingcatalyst from hydrogen gas and oxygen gas, and (2) hydrogen gas; (e)discharging the mixed gas ambient from the thermal oxidizing region; and(f) transforming hydrogen gas included in the discharged mixed gasambient into water by treating the discharged mixed gas ambient with anoxidizing catalyst.
 23. A method for manufacturing semiconductor devicesaccording to claim 22, wherein the thermal oxidation is performed in areaction furnace, and wherein the synthesizing and oxidizing catalystsare respectively disposed in the vicinity of the reaction furnace.
 24. Amethod for manufacturing semiconductor devices according to claim 23,wherein the thermal oxidation in step (d) is performed at a temperaturehigher than 800° C.
 25. A method for manufacturing semiconductordevices, comprising the steps of: (a) forming a silicon film over a gateinsulation film having a silicon oxide film formed over a siliconsurface of a major surface of a wafer; (b) forming a refractory metalfilm over the silicon film, through the medium of a barrier layer; (c)forming a gate electrode by patterning the silicon film and therefractory metal film; (d) after step (c), thermally oxidizing thesilicon and silicon portions of the wafer placed in a thermal oxidizingregion under a mixed gas ambient including (1) water vapor, synthesizedwith a synthesizing catalyst from hydrogen gas and oxygen gas, and (2)hydrogen gas; (e) discharging the mixed gas ambient from the thermaloxidizing region; and (f) transforming hydrogen gas included in thedischarged mixed gas ambient into water by treating the discharged mixedgas ambient with an oxidizing catalyst.
 26. A method for manufacturingsemiconductor devices according to claim 25, wherein the thermaloxidation is performed in a reaction furnace, and wherein thesynthesizing and oxidizing catalysts are respectively disposed in thevicinity of the reaction furnace.
 27. A method for manufacturingsemiconductor devices according to claim 26, wherein the thermaloxidation in step (d) is performed at a temperature higher than 800° C.28. A method for manufacturing semiconductor devices, comprising thesteps of: (a) performing heat treatment, under a mixed gas ambientincluding (1) water vapor, synthesized with a synthesizing catalyst fromhydrogen gas and oxygen gas, and (2) hydrogen gas, on a wafer placed ina thermal oxidizing region, said wafer having a first region and asecond region which is different from the first region in its material,thereby selectively thermally oxidizing the first region withoutoxidizing the second region; (b) discharging the gas ambient from thethermal oxidizing region; and (c) transforming hydrogen gas included inthe discharged gas ambient into water by treating the discharged gasambient with an oxidizing catalyst.
 29. A method for manufacturingsemiconductor devices, comprising the steps of: (a) forming a first filmincluding silicon as a principal component over a gate insulation filmhaving a silicon oxide film formed over a silicon surface of a majorsurface of a wafer; (b) forming a refractory metal film over the firstfilm, through the medium of a barrier layer; (c) forming a gateelectrode by patterning the first film and the refractory metal film;(d) after step (c), thermally oxidizing a silicon portion of the firstfilm of the wafer placed in a thermal oxidizing region under a mixed gasambient including (1) water vapor, synthesized with a synthesizingcatalyst from hydrogen gas and oxygen gas, and (2) hydrogen gas; (e)discharging the mixed gas ambient from the thermal oxidizing region; and(f) transforming hydrogen gas included in the discharged mixed gasambient into water by treating the discharged mixed gas ambient with anoxidizing catalyst.
 30. A method for manufacturing semiconductorintegrated circuit devices, comprising the steps of: (a) forming anisolation groove in a silicon surface of a major surface of a wafer; (b)forming an insulating material film so as to fill in the isolationgroove; (c) after step (b), planarizing the major surface by chemicalmechanical polishing; (d) forming a silicon film over a gate insulatingfilm having a silicon oxide film formed over the silicon surface; (e)forming a refractory metal film over the silicon film, through themedium of a barrier layer; (f) forming a gate electrode by patterningthe silicon film and the refractory metal film; (g) after step (f),thermally oxidizing the silicon film over the wafer placed in a thermaloxidizing region under a mixed gas ambient including water vapor andhydrogen gas without oxidizing the refractory metal film; (h)discharging the mixed gas ambient from the thermal oxidizing region; and(i) transforming the hydrogen gas included in the discharged mixed gasambient into water by treating the discharged mixed gas ambient with anoxidizing catalyst.
 31. A method for manufacturing complementarysemiconductor integrated circuit devices, comprising the steps of: (a)forming a silicon film over a gate insulation film having a siliconoxide film formed over a silicon surface of a major surface of a wafer;(b) forming a refractory metal film including tungsten as a principalcomponent over the silicon film, through the medium of a barrier layerincluding a tungsten nitride film; (c) forming a gate electrode bypatterning the silicon film, the barrier layer and the refractory metalfilm; (d) after step (c), thermally oxidizing the silicon film over thewafer placed in a thermal oxidizing region under a mixed gas ambientincluding water vapor and hydrogen gas without oxidizing the refractorymetal film; (e) discharging the mixed gas ambient from the thermaloxidizing region; and (f) transforming the hydrogen gas included in thedischarged mixed gas ambient into water by treating the discharged mixedgas ambient with an oxidizing catalyst.
 32. A method for manufacturingcomplementary semiconductor integrated circuit devices, comprising thesteps of: (a) forming a silicon film over a gate insulation film havinga silicon oxide film formed over a silicon surface of a major surface ofa wafer; (b) forming a refractory metal film including tungsten as aprincipal component over the silicon film, through the medium of abarrier layer including a tungsten nitride film; (c) forming a gateelectrode by patterning the silicon film, the barrier layer and therefractory metal film; (d) after step (c), thermally oxidizing thesilicon film over the wafer placed in a thermal oxidizing region under amixed gas ambient including gases oxidative and reductive to the siliconfilm and the refractory metal film without oxidizing the refractorymetal film; (e) discharging the mixed gas ambient from the thermaloxidizing region; and (f) transforming the discharged mixed gas ambientinto a nonflammable gas by treating the discharged mixed gas ambientwith an oxidizing catalyst.
 33. A method for manufacturing semiconductordevices, comprising the steps of: (a) forming a silicon film over a gateinsulation film having a silicon oxide film formed over a siliconsurface of a major surface of a wafer; (b) forming a refractory metalfilm including tungsten as a principal component over the silicon film,through the medium of a barrier layer; (c) forming a gate electrode bypatterning the silicon film and the refractory metal film; (d) afterstep (c), thermally oxidizing the silicon film over the wafer placed ina thermal oxidizing region under a mixed gas ambient including a firstgas oxidative to the silicon film and the refractory metal film, saidfirst gas being synthesized with a synthesizing catalyst, and a secondgas reductive to the silicon film and the refractory metal film, withoutoxidizing the refractory metal film; (e) discharging the mixed gasambient from the thermal oxidizing region; and (f) transforming thedischarged mixed gas ambient into a nonflammable gas by treating thedischarged mixed gas ambient with an oxidizing catalyst.
 34. A methodfor manufacturing semiconductor devices, comprising the steps of: (a)performing heat treatment under a gas ambient including hydrogen gas ona wafer placed in a reaction furnace, the wafer having a passivationfilm at a higher level than a bonding pad layer; (b) discharging the gasambient from the reaction furnace; and (c) transforming the hydrogen gasincluded in the discharged gas ambient into water by treating thedischarged gas ambient with an oxidizing catalyst.
 35. A method formanufacturing semiconductor devices, comprising the steps of: (a)performing heat treatment under a gas ambient including hydrogen gas andwater vapor on a wafer placed in a reaction furnace; (b) discharging thegas ambient from the reaction furnace; (c) transforming hydrogen gasincluded in the discharged gas ambient into water by treating thedischarged gas ambient with an oxidizing catalyst.